Captive: Hopeless

Chapter 1 - The Dark

The pervasive damp seeped through the dungeon's raw rock walls and chilled Daniella to the bone. Shivering, she could barely remember the sensation of warmth that became like the memory of her family, something far off and fuzzy. A dream of another life that belonged to some "other" Daniella in some parallel universe where humans still thought they were the alpha predators on this tiny blue planet.

She'd long since stopped tugging at the manacle that kept her left hand chained to the wall. Why rub her wrist raw and suffer the consequences? She felt the cold iron bracelet on her arm even if they released her, as if it left an imprint on her soul and became part of her.

The absolute darkness robbed her of her awareness of the passage of time. How long had this short chain, that allowed her only to sit up and lie down, held her in place?

Her captor gave her no mattress or even straw for comfort and no water or place to do her business. If she were still human, she would not have survived this hostile environment for more than a few days before succumbing to pneumonia, dehydration, or hunger.

She sensed the passage of many ages and caught its scent on the damp, musty air, but no trace remained of the many trapped here before her. One day another would take her place and suffer her fate. How many preceded her? Who knew? Did the dark mistress of this place even keep count?

Not even the rats came down this deep, and she was endlessly grateful, absolutely loathing the damned things.

Daniella learned to detest many things during her incarceration, not in that sugar-coated, blissful dream of the life lived before. The word took on a new depth and meaning in this gloomy world she did not have the imagination to conceive of when first dragged into that dark alley behind the awful bar her cousin conned her into going to on that fateful night—against her will and better judgment.

***

The packed room, pulsing music, swaying bodies, and flashing lights made her anxious, and she fled outside to gather her wits and grab some fresh air. After a few moments of taking in gulps of cool, fresh air, the dizziness and disorientation subsided.

Plucking up her courage, she turned toward the brick-and-mortar building in that dirty alley. She didn't even want to think what might stick to the bottom of her shoes as she marched toward the door to call Doreen.

A hand closed around her mouth with an iron grip, rendering her helpless and pinching her nose and mouth shut. Pulled off balance, she tried to fight, but to no avail, as the man dragged her backward into a side alley that she did not even notice before that moment, with her legs kicking out helplessly like a five-year-old throwing a tantrum.

Her brain grasped at thoughts of her family amid what was happening. Her mother, father, and little sister: the entirety of her perfect life, and worried about how concerned and terrified they would be if something terrible happened to her.

Faintly, she heard a voice calling her name.

I am here! Her mind formed the words her mouth could not say. Overwhelmed by terror, her consciousness shuddered, and the last thing she saw as the darkness closed in on her was a bright white light at the far end of the alley.

***

Back then, something terrible was a simple concept born from a lack of understanding. She possessed no idea what horrible things could befall an innocent like her and that most of them might be worse than being killed and dumped.

Past Daniella was a good girl, so pure of heart that she never even used a swear word. She blushed just hearing such profanity and was mortally offended by such crassness.

How bloody pathetic, young, and innocent she was! Not to mention oblivious to the dark world hiding beneath the one she knew.

***

There were many hidden layers to the world, and faced with the choice now, she would have preferred to die before ever reaching this place. Death would have been a kindness.

The girl abducted in that alley would not have agreed or understood. The burning need for oxygen and building pressure in her brain made it feel like her eyes were about to pop out.

Why me? Why not one of those people inside? As if the goth-clad rockers in their leather-studded clothes, with their pierced, tattooed bodies, dyed black hair, painted faces, and fascination with death, deserved more than innocent little Daniella to be kidnapped.

Shocked by their appearance and out of her comfort zone in their presence earlier in the evening, her soul shuddered at the thought of spending time among them. As her attacker dragged her away, she childishly blamed them for her unexpected fate.

None of those kids would have been as ill-prepared as her for what happened next, but it was not her presence at Morte that sealed her fate, something she learned much later.

Her presence at the dive bar, with its indecent decor, zany patrons, and underground vibe, presented the perfect opportunity for her kidnappers to make her disappear as if the world swallowed her whole.

So how would you fare in the dark dungeon?  Newest Version ©2014-2023 All rights reserved. If you find this on any other platform but Wattpad @CSDreamer, please report it. No part of this book may be copied or reposted without the author's permission.